Further studies have shown that the NC cells which participate in facial skeletogenesis correspond to the anteriormost region of the body axis where the genes of the Hox cluster are not expressed. If the forced expression of Hoxa2, Hoxa3 and Hoxb4 (the most anteriorly expressed Hox genes) is induced in this part of the neural fold, brain development is deeply affected with anencephaly and no skeletogenesis takes place in the face which fails to develop. This phenotype is reproduced when the...